


Yakuza: Dragon's Dark Descent

by vgsfshade6116



Category: Cthulhu Mythos - Fandom, World of Horror (Video Game), 恐怖の世界 | Kyoufu no Sekai | World of Horror (Video Game), 龍が如く | Ryuu ga Gotoku | Yakuza (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, Gen, M/M, Thriller, but believe you me things get worse from there, content warnings will be put at the start of appropriate chapters, cosmic horror, post-Y7, things start off relatively tame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:08:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28984635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vgsfshade6116/pseuds/vgsfshade6116
Summary: Something is wrong in Ijincho.Suspecting that it may be connected to the new yakuza clan that has moved into town, Ichiban and the other Heroes of Tomorrow take it upon themselves to find out what is going on. But their investigations lead them to uncover horrible truths that leave them questioning everything they've ever known, and struggles that truly put their bonds of friendship to the test. It's not just a battle to save the country this time, the fate of the entire world hangs in the balance...
Relationships: Kasuga Ichiban/Zhao Tianyou
Comments: 14
Kudos: 18





	1. Episode 1

With a final swipe of blood, the intricate magic circle was complete. The candles were already lit, and most of the men were already in their places. The only thing missing was the crystal focus, which a bunch of guys were already hauling up the stairs.

With a few grunts of exertion, the crystal was carefully set in the center of the circle. The boss checked it over, making sure that they hadn’t chipped or cracked it. Breaths were held, only let out when the boss straightened and nodded, satisfied that there hadn’t been any fuckups. The boss took his place at the head and pulled up his hood.

“Now, let’s begin.”

* * *

While everyone did have their own lives and responsibilities to go back to after saving the country, that didn’t mean they had to stop hanging out together. Tonight was one of those nights when they got together at Survive, drinking, singing karaoke, and listening to each other bitch about their troubles.

Currently Zhao was the one bitching. “Ugggghhh, business has just been shit lately! Zero customers have been coming in! And I know exactly why, it’s that damn ramen shop that just opened up!”

“Oh yeah, that new ramen place.” Ichiban sipped from his glass. “I’ve actually been meaning to invite you guys to grab a bite there together, mark it down on our food tour of the city. But things at Ichiban Holdings have been a bit hectic lately, I was too busy. Sorry guys.”

Zhao shook his head. “Normally I’d love to take you up on that offer, Ichi-kun. But I just can’t. It isn’t just Heian Tower that’s getting its customers sucked away, it’s every damn restaurant in the city! I can’t in good faith give my money to such a parasite. Plus, I’ve actually passed by it myself. Whatever they’re cooking in there, it does _not_ smell appetizing at all.”

He then got out his phone, tapping a few times on it. “And yet all the local food critics are raving about it! Take a look.”

On screen was a video of a guy with a manic look on his face. “It’s the best ramen I’ve ever tasted! There’s no doubt in my mind that it’s the best in the country! No, the world! The broth is simply exquisite, but it’s the meat that’s the best part! So juicy and tantalizing…”

Zhao paused the video. “All of it sounds way too good to be true. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were being paid off to give these reviews.”

“You sound like you hold a massive grudge against this restaurant Zhao-san.” Joon-gi commented.

“Yeah I do! This place is choking the life out of every other food place in town. If this keeps going on then they’re going to shut down. That means no more You Tian, Le Nouveau hama, Bar Rodriguez, or anywhere else! And there’s something fishy going down there, I just know it.”

“What, like they’re using dubious ingredients or something?” Adachi half-jokingly suggested.

Zhao snapped his fingers. “Exactly! Even though the place smells like death, something’s drawing in the good citizens of Ijincho there day after day. My money’s on something addictive. Joon-gi, haven’t the Geomijul caught anything suspicious about it?” 

“You must ask that question? We are certainly intrigued by the proprietors of the restaurant. Your theory about drugged ingredients however, is not something we have yet confirmed for ourselves. You can also rule out human meat being used in the food, as there have been no mysterious disappearances in Ijincho since the opening.”

“So what have you found out?”

Before Joon-gi could respond Nanba interrupted. “Whoa whoa whoa, you guys are sounding like you wanna do a crackdown on this place. It’s just a ramen place, isn’t it? And c’mon, we’ve kinda had enough trouble for a lifetime.”

“I actually think we should look into this, Nanba.” Ichiban countered. “You heard Zhao. People’s livelihoods are at stake here! And I don’t think it’ll cause too much harm if we get involved. If everything’s okay then everything’s okay. If some shit is going down then we can put a stop to it and things’ll go back to normal.”

Nanba sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. Still can’t believe we’re really sticking our noses into this…”

“So Joon-gi, what juicy tidbits have the Geomijul caught about the owners?” Zhao looked expectantly at the hitman.

“That they may be tied to a new yakuza group in town.”

“Whoa, yakuza?! Who?” Ichiban blurted out and frowned (Zhao meanwhile snapped his fingers and went “I knew it!”). “If it is yakuza then there probably is something up with the place.”

“We’re still collecting information on them. Because we are good friends, I’ll be gracious and share it with you freely when we know more.”

“In the meantime, we could actually pop by the restaurant for a visit.” Adachi joined in on the planning. “You’re concerned about the ingredients right? Being paying customers would be an easy way to grab ‘em. I can have them sent to an old friend of mine, Riko-chan. She works in forensics, and she owes me a favor, so she won’t kick up a fuss about testing food.”

“I could also put my hobo skills to use.” Nanba offered. “Restaurants throw out a lot of trash right? I can go dumpster-diving, fish out something to send to your friend. I would certainly draw a lot less attention than if, say, Sa-chan or Eri-chan went digging through their garbage.”

“I can’t believe that you choose to still look like a bum, Nan-chan.” Saeko pulled a face. “You’ve run around in those ratty old clothes for months now! Next weekend, I am taking you out on a shopping trip to update your fashion.”

“Ooo! That sounds fun! Could I come too?” Eri sparkled with glee.

“Of course!”

“Oh come on girls…” Nanba shook his head, but everyone could see the smile tugging at his lips.

“Alright, we got a plan all worked out! I’m honestly pretty excited for this new sidequest! This’ll be another great addition to our party’s saga!” Ichiban grinned.

Saeko giggled, Ichiban treating everything like a video game was so cute. “It sure will be Ichi, it sure will.”

* * *

Nanba had gone out to do his dumpster-diving first, not just to grab what he needed, but also to scope out the restaurant. He’d gone out alone because, as he pointed out, having the entire party hanging around, even from a distance, would defeat the not attracting attention part. To assuage Ichiban’s worries about not having backup around, he’d assured him that he’d run at the first sign of trouble.

So everyone waited for him to return to Survive. But the hours dragged on and Nanba didn’t return. Ichiban kept on glancing at his phone while he nursed his drink, kicking himself for not offering to get Nanba a phone of his own. And looking at his other friends, while outwardly they seemed to be handling it better than Ichiban, he knew that they were growing more worried too.

When the sun fully set and night came in, Ichiban was just about ready to rally the troops and march out to rescue Nanba from whatever trouble he’d landed in. But as fate would have it, it was that moment that the bar’s door swung open, and lo and behold there was Nanba.

“Well, I got the sample for your friend, Adachi.” he grimaced and held up a plastic bag with a lumpy shape inside it. Everyone immediately recoiled from the horrid smell, gagging and covering their noses. “It smells only slightly better than the restaurant itself…”

“Leave that outside! I don’t need you permanently stinking up my bar!” The bartender yelled.

“Oh, hell, it’s just as rancid as your breath, Nanba!” Saeko coughed.

Nanba stepped outside again, and the party followed after to chat with him, though they made sure to keep their distance from the offensive bag. “You were gone for hours Nanba, I was starting to get seriously worried! What happened?” Ichiban asked, still covering his nose.

“I was able to dig this out no problem, no one came out to try and stop me. Then I went around so I could keep lookout, watch for any staff stepping out. But here’s the thing; no one ever did.”

“What?! Not a single one?” Adachi raised an eyebrow, his disbelief evident. 

“Yeah! I hung around for hours, but the only people who ever went in and out were customers. I didn’t see any cooks step out to have a smoke or even to head home. And I didn’t see anybody who looked like they might be employed there head inside to clock in. Place is open 24/7, you’d think they’d have rotating employees. I finally got sick of watching and came back here.”

“Maybe they do just have one set of people working around the clock. I’d feel sorry for them if they did, running ragged all day. Not at all like how you run things President Kasuga!” Eri speculated. 

“It’s still very strange.” Adachi put his hand on his chin. “I’m just growing more and more suspicious…”

“Well tomorrow we’re going to get in ourselves. We’ll see how things are really like there.” Ichiban said.

“Sorry, I won’t be joining you, Kasuga-san. I need to speak with Seong-hui in person tomorrow.” Joon-gi said.

“Count me out too. Like I said before, I don’t want to patronize this place in any shape or form.” Zhao added.

“Yeah, I don’t think I should come along either.” Nanba joined in as well. “Just because I wasn’t chased off doesn’t mean I wasn’t spotted. There’ll be trouble if someone recognizes me. Also,” he held up the bag of meat, making everyone's noses wrinkle with disgust. “Where do we keep this while we wait for Adachi’s contact?”

“I’ll take it. The bartender’s been really good to us, he doesn’t deserve his bar smelling like a dumpster. I can afford to have someone get the smell out of my apartment now too.” Ichiban took the bag from Nanba, doing his best to not inhale too much. “Eugh.”

Saeko yawned. “It’s getting late, I’m gonna turn in. See you guys tomorrow.” She walked away, waving goodbye. 

With that the rest of the party went their separate ways. Ichiban headed back to his apartment, very much aware that he was given a wide berth by the other pedestrians. This was gonna make for awkward conversation with the concierge...

* * *

He’s falling, falling through pure white, except it didn’t feel like he was falling, no, he was suspended in the endless nothing -

_Hm, yes. You’ll do nicely...Hero._

The voice rumbles through his his entire being, and he has to muster up every ounce of willpower in his body to even turn his head to try and look at the source -

And then Ichiban woke up in his futon, in a cold sweat but otherwise fine. He sat up and shook his head. What a weird dream, especially that part when...he frowned. Damn, it seemed to be one of those dreams where it starts slipping away the moment you wake up. Something about it had seemed important too… 

Ichiban grabbed his phone and checked the time. Shit, it was way past 11! He’d told his friends that he’d meet with them earlier, and there were already a bunch of angry/worried voicemails asking him where the hell he was.

Ichiban jumped up. He sped through his morning routine, getting dressed, brushing his teeth, dropping in some more food than usual into Nancy’s aquarium to make up for the missed feeding, and shoving some bread into his mouth so he looked straight out of a high school anime. 

He rushed out the door, all thoughts about that dream already forgotten...

* * *

It’d taken a helluva lot of apologizing about being an idiot (again), but the others had finally accepted his apologies and they headed for the ramen place together. Once they reached it however, they had to take pause.

The restaurant itself was pretty nondescript, simply called “Tappuri Ramen” according to the sign above the door. But what really made the place stand out were the massive, block-spanning queues leading in. People from all walks of life slowly shuffled forward, and with their blank eyes and eager smiles, Ichiban couldn’t help but be reminded of a zombie flick he’d caught once at Seagull Cinema. It was honestly a little unsettling.

And it was a sentiment his companions shared. “Yeah, I’m getting really creepy vibes here.” Saeko remarked. 

“I don’t have much of an appetite left.” Eri rubbed her arm nervously.

“Hey, remember, we’re not actually here to eat the food. We’re just grabbing the ingredients so we can give them to Riko-chan. Though it looks like we’re gonna be waiting for hours just to get inside. I knew I should’ve had a snack beforehand…” Adachi grumbled.

After a bit of walking they finally found the end of the queue and slid in. “So uh, could you tell me about the ramen? It’s become Ijincho’s number 1 dish in only a few months.” Ichiban asked the guy in front of him.

The guy’s face broke into a too-wide grin. “It’s out of this world. You’ll never have anything else like it. Especially the meat. Mmm…” he rubbed his stomach, and that combined with the spaced-out tone of his voice brought the zombie comparison to Ichiban’s mind again. Brr.

He was considering asking Saeko to hold his place in line while he popped by the nearest convenience store to grab some snacks to hold them over when a group of men approached them. From the shades, flashy clothing, faces like bricks with angry eyebrows drawn on them, and the small pins on their lapels, these guys were clearly yakuza.

“We know that people have been snooping around.” the leader growled. “We don’t like people sticking their noses into our business, right boys?”

There was a chorus of ‘yeahs!’, while Ichiban and party waited for the spiel to be over, readying themselves for the inevitable. A grin came to Ichiban’s face, beating in some thugs’ faces was exactly what they had needed, to break all this tension that had been building up.

“Now let’s teach ‘em a lesson!” The leader bellowed, and the mob charged, roaring in unison. The party met them with the coordination they’d developed from months of fighting together, and faces were beat in with bats, batons, handbags, rulers, and good old punches and kicks. The mooks crumpled like tissue paper, and Ichiban could tell that for all their bark, these guys were just bottom-rung grunts by the end of the day. Hell, he was pretty sure that a well-aimed fart from Nanba could’ve floored them just as easily.

With the fight over as quickly as it had started, Ichiban realized something. Usually when they got into fights with the various local degenerates, pedestrians would scream and run away from the action. But the people waiting in line hadn’t budged an inch, they just continued staring ahead, only moving when the others in front did. Okay, now things were right back to creepy.

A black car pulled up, and out stepped out what Ichiban could only assume was the grunts’ boss. While he did have a black parasol in hand, he otherwise looked like your standard lieutenant, black suit, blue tie, gray shirt, and a very pissed off look on his face right now. All the thugs groaning on the ground suddenly looked very scared, and Ichiban knew that as bad as a beating they’d gotten from his party, they were going to be in for some even more painful discipline tonight.

“C-captain,” The grunt who’d started the fight gasped out. “We were just-”

Before he could get in another word the lieutenant kicked him in the stomach and roughly grabbed him by the hair. Unpleasant memories of Captain Sawashiro resurfaced and Ichiban grimaced. 

“You idiots! Have you really forgotten our number one rule already?!” The thug’s face was slammed into the pavement. “Don’t. Attract. Attention.” the lieutenant growled out. 

He dropped the thug and faced Ichiban, and the fury was instantly replaced with that condescending politeness Ichiban hated oh so much. “Forgive me, they’re new. I should’ve kept a better hold on their leashes. They’ll be having a talk with the patriarch later, he’s very good at straightening the useless ones out.” 

He bowed. “You were just trying to get some lunch, yes? Let me make up to you by getting you in faster. I’m friends with the owner, he won’t mind.” He grinned, but it was the kind of grin that evoked a hungry, circling shark, especially with his sharp teeth.

Ichiban shared a glance with his friends. “Sure, thanks…” It was hella suspicious, but hell, it got them closer to their goal.

The four followed the lieutenant to the front, prompting indignant cries like “I’ve been here forever! No fair!” or “You can’t just skip the line!” from the queue. As they got closer, Ichiban was suddenly hit with the full brunt of the restaurant’s smell and gagged. Zhao hadn’t been kidding when he said the place smelled terrible; an overpowering mix of rot - like the meat currently sitting in his fridge -, grease and...was that blood? Ichiban shoved his hands into his pockets to keep himself from covering his face, not wanting to look rude in front of their escort, and looked back at his friends. They looked appropriately sick, but the people in line only had that expression of eager anticipation. How could they stand the stench?

The party followed the lieutenant in, and what they saw left them staring, jaws agape. The inside of the ramen shop was absolutely crowded, with all the seats in sight occupied, high stacks of empty bowls next to each person. But the bulk of customers were actually eating on foot, whether standing or sitting on the floor. The air was filled with the wet noises of people slurping, eating, feasting, drowning out any other sound. Everyone was just focused on wolfing their food down, no chatting, no phones out, no, only the bowls in front of them mattered. Once again Ichiban had to fight his gag reflex down.

The lieutenant shared a few words with the elderly owner behind the counter, nodded, and turned to leave. Before he stepped outside, he addressed Ichiban. “Enjoy your meal.” 

“Yeah...sure.”

The man smirked and chuckled sinisterly, and with that he was gone. Ichiban stepped up to the counter. “Uh, one ramen for me and each of my friends. Four total.” he quickly added upon noticing the owner’s milky white eyes.

The owner nodded, and four red bowls, along with four pairs of disposable chopsticks, were placed on the counter for them to grab. He gave Ichiban a toothless grin and got back to polishing his knives.

The four carefully threaded their way through the maze of other customers with their bowls in hand, saying “excuse me” and “sorry” a bunch of times, though of course the others took no notice. Finally they found some open enough space on the floor and sat down together.

Saeko looked around at the other customers. “I really, really don’t want to spend more time here than we have to.”

Adachi took a long sniff of his ramen. “You know, this actually does smell really delicious. Broth’s a whole lot more red than I’m used to...”

“Adachi-san! Have you forgotten why we’re here in the first place?!” she hissed.

“Sorry, I’m just hungry!”

“Hey, is anyone watching us?” Ichiban stage-whispered.

The others did a quick survey. “No, it looks like everyone’s pretty occupied, Kasuga-san.” Eri whispered back.

Ichiban nodded and slipped a vial out of his suit (bought from a local pharmacy earlier), and surreptitiously filled it with soup. The others followed suit, filling some sample jars with the other ingredients. He quickly slipped his vial back into his suit.

Then someone tapped on Ichiban’s shoulder and he nearly jumped out of his skin. But it was only another customer. “Heeeey.” he slurred, face filled with the same empty bliss as the other patrons. “Could I have yours? You’ve barely touched it.”

“Yeah, sure man. In fact, you can have all of our food! Right guys?”

“Sure.” “Yeah.” “Uh-huh.” 

The customer’s face broke into a chillingly idiotic grin. “Sweeeet. Thanks a loooot.” 

They pushed their bowls into the guy’s face, and he eagerly dug in, slurping the noodles loudly. The four friends quickly stood and headed for the exit.

“Leaving so soon?” a croaky old voice spoke up, and Ichiban nearly jumped again. Fuck, this place must be really getting to him if he was this anxious.

“Uh, yeah, sorry. Got places to be, y’know? Here,” Ichiban dug around his wallet and slapped some yen on the counter. “Keep the change.”

The owner gave him the same toothless grin from before. “Thanks. I hope you enjoyed the food.”

“Oh, we sure did!”

“Then come again soon. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

The party made their hasty escape, only stopping when they could no longer smell that putrid stench. “Hoo! That was way more intense than I was expecting!” Ichiban breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Still, mission successful! And Riko-chan will be coming by Survive tonight to pick up the samples. In the meantime, why don’t we get some Napolitan pasta together? I’m sure Pocket Cafe will appreciate our business when they’re starving for any.” Adachi suggested. 

There was unanimous agreement among them, and Ichiban made sure to tip generously after the meal.

* * *

Once they finished their lunch, Ichiban separated from his friends, telling them he’d meet up with them at Surivive. He made a quick stop at his apartment to grab the meat from his fridge, which he’d moved to a plastic container for easier transport. An overnight stay in the cold had thankfully lessened the smell, though he’d have to hire a skilled cleaner if he’d ever hoped to get the stink out of the fridge itself. He really didn’t need to hold his breath every time he wanted food.

He entered Survive to see everyone gathered together for drinks. He eagerly joined in, happy to just relax with his friends after a much-too unsettling day. 

Saeko had apparently been recounting what happened to Zhao, who let out a low whistle. “Wow, I wasn’t expecting things to be that crazy over there.”

“I know! It was just giving off the worst vibes from the first second we got there. Ugh.” she shuddered. “But at least we’re finally about to get to the bottom of this.”

“Kasuga-san.” Joon-gi called him. “Seong-hui has compiled all that we could find on the true proprietors, including the people who attacked you today. Come to Geomijul tomorrow, you’ll find what we have very interesting.”

“Alright, more answers! Things are really shaping up now!”

The door to Survive swung open again, and an older woman with her hair tied back into a neat ponytail stepped inside. “Adachi-san! Good to see you again, you big ol’ teddy bear!” she held her arms open.

“Teddy bear?” Eri giggled.

“Riko-chan!” Adachi grinned back and hopped off his stool to take her up on that hug. “It’s been way too long.”

“It has, so I’m wondering why you only called me when you needed help!” she teased, smirk tugging at her lips. “Could’ve sent me a postcard or emailed me way earlier.”

“Eh, it’s been a hectic last few months.” The ex-detective scratched the back of his neck. “You’ve seen the news. I was finally able to bust Horinouchi!”

“And good on you, teddy bear.” She clasped hands with him. “Now, what d’you need me to do?”

Adachi handed her the gathered food samples. “We’ve got suspicions of tampered ingredients. I want standard analysis done on these, especially for drugs and the like.”

Riko nodded and put them away. “I’ll have the results in a couple days. I’ll come by again to drop them off.” 

Adachi patted her on the back, smiling. “Again, thanks for the help. And send Kato-san my regards.”

“I will,” she waved him goodbye. “Don’t get so drunk again that you start serenading a cactus again!”

Adachi coughed loudly as the door closed behind her. “A cactus?” Joon-gi was obviously trying to hide a smirk.

“I never would’ve guessed that a prickly personality was your type.” Nanba snickered.

“You guys, stooooop!” Adachi moaned. The bar filled with everyone’s laughter, and they gladly drank the night away. 

* * *

The amount of progress the Geomijul had made in reestablishing their surveillance system was impressive (and creepy), Ichiban thought as he looked around the monitor room. More of the screens were online than the last time he’d been here, flicking through various views of the streets of Ijincho. In fact, one was showing the extensive queues outside Tappuri Ramen right now, and Ichiban couldn’t suppress a shudder.

“Hey Seong-hui. Thanks for looking into this.”

“Kasuga. You wouldn’t believe the amount of work we had to do to dig up what little we managed.” Seong-hui gave some directions to her men below, and the footage on the main monitor switched to a recording of the scuffle he and his friends had gotten into yesterday. It paused and zoomed in on one of the thug’s pins.

“That belongs to the Kuwahara Family, a subsidiary of the Shinkai Clan.” A still of the Shinkai’s crest appeared on another screen, and the unusual design immediately struck Ichiban; jade green kanji above stylized waves of the same shade, embossed on a black background. “And if you could believe it, the Shinkai are even more secretive than us. Even though they've been around since the end of World War II, there's not a whole lot of info on them out there. I would guess that they do a lot of bribing to keep the press quiet about them. From what we did manage to find, they primarily operate out of the coastal areas of Japan, and they’re involved in smuggling, drugs, racketeering, and prostitution.”

“Operate out of coastal areas huh? That why they named themselves after the ocean?” Ichiban remarked.

Seong-hui shrugged. “Probably. With the Great Wall of Muscle fallen, plus the Tojo and the Omi dissolved, it’s not very surprising that they would move into Ijincho to fill in the power vacuum. The current chairman, Hamamoto Haru, moved into a huge mansion near the beach. Not only that but he bought the old lighthouse nearby, saying that he wanted to renovate it.”

A still of the man near his new property appeared on a different monitor. Hamamoto was a tall guy, around Tendo’s height, and just as broad-shouldered. He didn’t look as though he went out into the sun much, as his skin was pretty pale. He looked to be around middle-aged, what with the obvious wrinkles and streaks of grey in his hair. His face was sharp, with a neatly-trimmed goatee on his chin. Something about it reminded Ichiban of old photos of war veterans he’d seen, back when his middle-school class had done a unit on WWII. But what really sent a shiver down his spine was Hamamoto’s eyes. They were sunken, had dark circles under them, and most notably were red-rimmed. All of that combined made for an unhinged look. Standing behind Hamamoto was an even bigger guy, both in height and width. How much did he eat if he was that grotesquely fat?

“Back to the ramen place. The Kuwahara Family purchased the building along with several others a while back, legitimately. The strangeness started not long after it actually opened. A few people stopped by at first, then it seems that word of mouth spread, and we now have the unnatural flow of business we have today.”

The footage unpaused, stopping when the lieutenant appeared on the scene. “That’s Morioka Takahiro, and we only managed to find his name because he survived getting shot in Tokyo.”

“Hm, he seems to be a good guy to get answers out of. Where is he now?”

“Out of town, unfortunately. He left this morning.”

“Damn. Well, what about the patriarch? Where’s he?”

“Last spotted heading to Hamamoto’s mansion. I’d advise going onto a big fat raid like you did with the Omi, Kasuga, mainly because I like you and don’t want you getting yourself killed.”

“Hey, I’ve learned a lot about not being reckless. Anything else you could tell me?”

She shook her head, clearly frustrated. “That’s all I have. As I said before, these people are very intent on covering their tracks. I got more questions than answers…”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Everyone my informants spoke to, they were all scared as hell. Warned them that if they continued looking into the Shinkai, they’d end up dead or worse.”

“Honestly, that doesn’t sound that much different from any other yakuza clan. Thanks for all your hard work Seong-Hui. I’ll keep in touch.”

Ichiban turned to leave, while Seong-Hui looked back at the still of Hamamoto, hand on her chin, brow furrowed, lips tense. “What are you hiding…?” she whispered.

* * *

It actually only took a day for them to hear from Riko again. _There is something wrong. You need to see it for yourself_ , the text message to Adachi had read.

That had certainly been worrying. Everyone was left wondering just what she had found, and there was real apprehension in the air as they waited for her to come reveal her findings.

Finally Riko appeared in the doorway, and she looked much more disheveled than last time. Her hair was no longer in a ponytail, her eyes had shadows under them, and there was a wide, fearful look in them. She fumbled in her bag and held out an analysis sheet to Adachi. “I couldn’t identify all the particles. But there’s definitely a highly addictive drug in the broth.”

“For real?! We gotta get the restaurant shut down immediately then!” Ichiban exclaimed.

“That’s not all.” Riko sat on a bar stool and rubbed her face. When she took her hands away, she looked nauseous. “The meat...I accidentally cut myself on the glass, and it reacted to the blood. Adachi-san, whatever this really is, _it’s alive_.” she breathed.

There was a pregnant pause. “What?” Adachi voiced all their disbelief.

Riko got out her phone and showed them a video. It displayed the meat Nanba had dug out, laying in a chipped beaker. A red film trickled down the side. After a second of confusion, Ichiban spotted it; a soft pulse going through the meat, like it was breathing against the glass.

Riko put away her phone and covered her mouth. “I-I have to go now, Adachi-san. I’m leaving Yokohama. Please, don’t try to reach out to me.”

“Riko-chan!” Adachi cried out, but she was already bolting towards the exit, and she slammed the door shut behind her. Everyone exchanged nervous glances with each other.

“We have to get down there. Now.” Ichiban said softly.

* * *

They ran down together to the ramen shop, fully expecting a fight. But nothing could have prepared them for the shock waiting for them there. “How...how is this possible?!” Adachi breathed with sheer incredulity.

There was only a gap in the street, as though there had never been a building there at all. Surrounding the space were distraught crowds, crying out with dismay as they also found nothing there. The party quietly pushed past the disconsolate customers to stand on the grounds, as though there could be any answers found there to hint at what happened.

Joon-gi spoke into his phone in rapid Korean, and his eyes widened in shock. “Seong-hui says that all cameras that were pointed at this area suddenly went out, all at the same time. When they came back on, it was gone!”

“None of this makes sense! How can a building just up and vanish into thin air?” Nanba yelled.

Of course that question was left to hang in the air, as no one had any answers. Ichiban swallowed and looked around.

Something glistened in the grass. Taking a cautious step forward, Ichiban squinted. It was another chunk of meat, rotting in the sun.

And before he could let his friends know about it, a bleary eye opened on it.

He drew back, too stunned to make a noise. A thin line of sharp teeth appeared on it, and it twisted into a grin. It flexed, and tiny black insectile legs sprouted out of its sides. It quickly scurried off into the shadows. As it disappeared, the unwanted memory of the video came to him, of the rhythmic pulse of the meat in the glass, and he had to fight down the bile rising in his throat. The sun hadn’t stopped shining, yet the air felt incrementally heavier than before.

Ichiban gulped and glanced back at his friends. No one else had spotted the meat. He really hoped that he had just been seeing things, that it had just been his overactive imagination.

(Deep down, he knew it hadn't.)

Looking at his friends' nervous and confused faces, he knew that they were all thinking the same thing.

_What in the world was happening in Ijincho?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major thanks to my friend Bry for being my editor! I wouldn't be able to even publish this without him. You can find his twitter [here](https://twitter.com/CrazyBryguy/). :)
> 
> Also, I'd like to shoutout the youtube channel that served as a great source of inspiration for me! It's called [Seth Skorkowsky](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQs8-UJ7IHsrzhQ-OQOYBmg), and if you're interested in tabletop gaming you'll enjoy a lot of his content.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this crazy idea that popped into my head one day, of another horror-themed Yakuza spinoff after Dead Souls did zombies. I'm really glad 7 bought in Ichiban in his crew, not just because of how lovable they are, but because the game established that they're so very vulnerable compared to the likes of Kiryu or Majima. No one is a one-man army, really appropriate considering how in Call of Cthulhu the investigators are pretty much regular people going up against terrible cosmic forces beyond their wildest nightmares. In fact I'm not even sure how this idea would work with Kiryu, Majima, or the other playable characters in the series, given that mythos threats aren't problems you can just punch away. Incidentally, that's also why you shouldn't really expect the old guard to show up, aside from maybe some brief cameos. I wouldn't want Majima to crash in and immediately Henderson the plot into oblivion (・・；).
> 
> Also, several chapters of this fic will be adaptations of scenarios from World Of Horror/the COC tabletop game. I really do recommend looking into the source material, it's super interesting!
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


	2. Episode 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw: mutilation, emetophobia

“The serial mutilations in Ijincho continue with another victim being admitted to the hospital just a few hours ago. The police have sworn to put all their resources into stopping the so-called ‘Kuchisake-onna Copycat.’ Citizens are advised to travel in groups, especially at night. Parents, always ensure that your children have an escort around. If you ever feel unsafe, approach one of the many officers on patrol and they will assist you…”

* * *

Joon-gi had a very long and extensive morning routine. After all, it took a lot of effort to make sure he looked his absolute best every day. Combing and gelling his hair, applying makeup, plucking stray facial hair, brushing his eyelashes, general skincare, and so on and so forth. He could be a professional beautician if he ever wanted to change careers.

He was at the part where he applied moisturizer to his face, so he opened the bathroom mirror and grabbed the bottle from the cabinet. He swung the mirror closed...and paused.

He had had many years to get used to seeing a face in his reflection that was not his original one. But what he saw now was not Joon-gi Han’s face, not entirely. A long gash cut through empty eye sockets, and a bloody slash had been gouged through the cheeks. As he stared mutely, the twisted vision’s mouth fell open, inhumanly wide, a black, bleeding void. The reflection then grew steadily bigger, filling the mirror, as though it were stepping closer to the other side... 

Joon-gi swiftly swung the mirror open again, chasing the vision away. He held it open for several tense moments before slowly closing it. Everything was normal again. Joon-gi Han's face stared back at him, with no sign of damage to it.

The Korean shook his head. All this talk of mutilation from the media must be getting to him. He told himself to get a grip, he didn’t need his imagination suddenly going wild like this and throwing these worthless images at him.

He went through the rest of his routine without incident and headed out. He had a lot of things to do today.

* * *

Joon-gi, now dressed in more casual clothing so as to not stand out, pushed his way past the hospital’s revolving doors. He went up to the receptionist’s desk. “I’m a friend of Kah Baek-Hyeon’s. I’d like to see him please.”

The receptionist waved him ahead. “Room 603.”

He thanked her and headed for the elevator, pressing the appropriate button once he was inside. The woman had seemed distracted, not surprising considering how many other visitors like him were likely coming in.

Of course the Geomijul were conducting their own investigation of the serial mutilations. Under normal circumstances Joon-gi’s visit wouldn’t even be necessary, they’d just capture the perpetrator in their surveillance network and sell the information to the police from there. But of course things weren’t normal, as their network wasn’t yet back at 100% operational capacity. Something more mysterious impeded them however; whenever a camera should’ve caught the culprit in action, the feed instead became staticky and refused to be fixed. The feed would only return to normal and show the victim once the attack was over, and an equipment check revealed no malfunctions. Somehow the culprit was using a similar trick to the Kuwahara. Could that be a connection…?

Thus, the Geomijul had to rely on its on-foot agents more. An undesirable risk, as Joon-gi’s presence here today proved; their man had become the next one on the Kuchisake-onna Copycat’s list of victims. Just one more thing about this whole affair that frustrated Seong-Hui to no end.

The elevator door opened and Joon-gi stepped out. He found Room 603 and went inside, feeling a twinge of sympathy for the man on the bed when he saw the gauze pads on his face. “Baek-Hyeon. How are you feeling?”

“Joon-gi hyung…” Kah’s eyes focused on him. They had shadows under them, indicating that he hadn’t gotten much rest in spite of the hospital stay. “It still hurts…”

“What happened?” he got straight to business. “Who was it?”

Kah shook his head. “Not a person.” Fear crept into his eyes. “A monster.”

Joon-gi frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

“It’s there but not really there…” he shuddered. “I can still hear it laughing…It laughed as it cut me...”

“I think you need to actually rest, Baek-Hyeon.” Joon-gi went over to the closet and opened it, taking out Kah’s coat. Making sure that his back was to the security camera, Joon-gi retrieved the hidden camera from the coat and pocketed it. “Baek-Hyeon, I can promise you that me and my friends will put a stop to this.”

“Hyung, be careful…”

Joon-gi put the coat away and left Kah. Once he was back at Geomijul HQ, he hooked the camera up to his laptop and started watching.

The view showed a typical night in Ijincho’s streets. No other people were in sight. This was a deliberate move, as it was well-known that the Copycat only attacked if the victim was alone. 

Suddenly the footage started to glitch. Joon-gi paused the video and double-checked the camera itself. Frustratingly (but not unexpectedly), the camera had no issues, and his other troubleshooting efforts didn’t fix the footage. Left with no other choice, he resumed watching the video as it was.

Even as the footage corrupted further, most of the audio could still be made out. A noise, barely audible, but distinct, caught his attention: the telltale sound of scissors snipping repeatedly. And it was steadily getting louder, closer.

“Hey, who’s there?” Kah’s voice called out. “You…”

Kah screamed. And Joon-gi heard a new voice, a rasping, feminine one with an odd echo to it. It only said one thing: _“Am I beautiful?”_

Menacing cackling drowned out all other sound, and the video ended there. Joon-gi slowly closed the lid of the laptop to take it with him. He needed to inform Seong-Hui and his friends of his findings, quickly.

* * *

“You know, I’ve been wondering, with this Kuchi Copycat at large, just what _is_ the original supposed to be?” Zhao mused aloud, arms folded behind his head.

Currently, Ichiban was leading Joon-gi, Zhao, and Adachi around the Red Light District. The police weren’t the only ones out on patrol in Ijincho. The so-called Heroes of Tomorrow also went on nightly patrols of the city, working with the Geomijul to try and catch the Copycat, even splitting up to cover more ground. However, night after night their efforts were just as fruitless as the police’s; they never found any sign of the slasher, only ever getting more “random encounters'' with the various belligerent degenerates of Ijincho. It was frankly, very frustrating. 

“You’ve never heard of the Kuchisake-Onna before?” Adachi looked back at him. “It’s a really old-school urban legend, even I heard it back in high school.”

“Nah, the school I went to back in the day was lame enough to not pass around gossip about ghost stories. But I have heard the one about the girl who got cut in half by a train, so now she haunts train stations and chops her unlucky victims in half. Ooo.” Zhao unfolded his arms to wriggle his fingers in front of him.

“Let me tell you about it Zhao.” Kasuga addressed his boyfriend. “So, if you’re traveling alone, a woman in a mask will come up to you. She’ll ask you ‘Am I pretty?’ Say yes, she pulls off her mask and shows that her face has been sliced open. Scary shit, right? Then she’ll ask you ‘Am I still pretty?’ again. Say yes and she cuts your face open like hers. But if you say no, then she just kills you. You’re supposed to say she looks ‘so-so’ to confuse her so you can run away. Man, would you believe that after I first heard the story, every time I saw a lady in a mask I’d walk to the other side of the road?”

“Why, thanks for letting me know Ichi-kun.” Zhao flashed that familiar Cheshire grin.

While Kasuga described the legend, Joon-gi had his phone out, doing his own research into it. The websites he found repeated much of the same information, occasionally describing variations of it. He also found some artist’s interpretations, some more gory than others. Unbidden, the gruesome vision in the mirror returned to him, and he shook his head to get rid of it. He told himself again that he’d just been seeing things.

Adachi scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Actually, I’ve heard of something similar to this whole mess happening before. Where was it...Hmm, I think it was Nagasaki, and it was waaaaay back in the 70s. People reported sightings of Kuchisake-onna, and that created so much hysteria that escorts for kids were set up and police patrols were increased. Unlike now though, I don’t think there were ever any actual attacks.”

“We know a few things about who we’re looking for.” Joon-gi joined the conversation. “It’s definitely a woman, as the voice I heard from the agent's footage was female. None of the eyewitness accounts mentioned a mask so we can assume she’s not wearing one. If only they weren’t so vague on her actual appearance…”

Kasuga stopped walking. “Alright, that’s the Red Light District clear.” He got out his phone and made a call, putting it on speaker. “Nanba, anything in the Bar District?”

“Nope, nothing.” Nanba sighed. “Ichiban, we’re getting nowhere quickly.”

“Well you got any better ideas? Besides, this way we can stop other kinds of trouble that pop up.”

The four suddenly heard someone shout, “Oi! It’s those assholes again! Let’s make ‘em pay!”

“Speaking of which…” Kasuga grabbed his bat.

“Alright, you go clean those goons up. I’ll talk to you later. Me, Sa-chan and Eri-chan are gonna move onto the Commercial District.” Nanba hung up.

“Am I the only one getting sick of just how often we have to beat up assholes that never seem to learn?” Adachi put up his fists.

“Speak for yourself. I’m always down for tearing shit up with Ichi-kun.” Zhao smirked and took a fighting stance. Joon-gi silently slipped on his knuckle dusters.

After the overconfident idiots were mopped up, the party finished their patrols for the night, as empty-handed as ever. As they headed back to Survive, Joon-gi wondered just how much longer it would take before they would stop this…

* * *

As the days passed, the attacks continued. Even with the party out on the hunt, they were never able to find the Copycat, or even catch a glimpse. Every time a Geomijul camera went out, no matter how fast they rushed, they were always too late. All they could do was call for an ambulance to rush the poor bleeding and moaning victim to the hospital. The atmosphere in Ijincho grew more and more agitated and anxious.

But it was while everyone was gathered in Survive, discussing possible plans to catch the perpetrator that there was finally a new development. Joon-gi’s cell vibrated, and when he picked up, it was Seong-Hui. He listened to what she had to say, nodded, and hung up.

“There’s someone new in town, and she’s been asking a lot of questions about the Copycat these past few days. She’s at Hamakita Park right now. I think she warrants talking to.”

* * *

When they finally found the new arrival, she was looking around the trees, very close to the area where the first victim had been found. Her general appearance was the first thing that struck Joon-gi; ‘disheveled’ was putting it kindly. Standing around Eri’s height, her long hair was unkempt, and underneath her circular glasses her eyes had deep dark shadows under them. From how dirty her clothes were and the whiff of body odor coming off her, she hadn’t cleaned herself up in a good long while. She was wearing a trench coat several sizes too big for her (to conceal weapons like he did?), a silver necklace around her neck, though the pendant was hidden by her blouse, brown pants, and a pair of worn-out sneakers. In her hands was a pair of brass dowsing rods. All in all, she gave off the impression of being a total crackpot, and Joon-gi was now having serious doubts about this.

When the stranger spotted them, her expression twisted into an ugly scowl. “Who the fuck are you and what the fuck do you want?” She shoved her hands into her pockets.

Kasuga, ever the diplomatic one, held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Easy, we’re not going to hurt you. We heard that you were looking into the Kuchisake-onna Copycat attacks, and so are we.”

Her eyes narrowed, and her body tensed, as if for flight or fight. Joon-gi was ready for either option. “Who did you hear that from? Who are you _really_ working with? Wait...I recognize you! You’re that guy who ran for election and exposed the governor as a shitbag!”

“Uh, yeah. Guilty as charged.” Kasuga still didn’t like talking about the whole mess with Ryo Aoki. “But getting back on track, we could work together! If we do, we can finally catch the Copycat and put a stop to her!”

The disheveled woman stared at him incredulously. Then, a single bark of laughter escaped her. “Let me give you and your buddies some advice: _walk away from this._ What’s going on here is far bigger than you think. You’re much better off leaving the Kuchisake-onna to me. Trust me, it’ll be better for your sanity and health in the long run.”

“Unfortunately, we can’t do that.” Kasuga stood his ground. “We’re already involved in this. Ijincho is our home, and we’re its protectors. And we’ve been through our fair share of shit already, so don’t think we can’t handle ourselves.”

Her face filled with disbelief. “Are you for real?! I’m fucking serious, this is not going to end well for you if you insist on chasing down the Kuchisake-onna. Or are you really that much of a stubborn idiot?”

“He is. And unfortunately for you, so are the rest of us.” Zhao grinned.

“You could say no to us as many times as you’d like. We’d just come along without your permission.” Kasuga said. A slight smile appeared on Eri’s face when he said that.

The stranger went quiet, likely seriously considering what to do next. “How do I know you won’t just betray me and try to kill me?”

“What? No! We’d never do that.” Kasuga shook his head.

She slowly nodded. “I’ll take your word for it for now. But I will do as much damage as I can to you if you do.”

“I’d like to see you try.” Joon-gi said in a low voice. He never let threats to his friends go lightly.

Kasuga held up a hand. “Easy there. We’re all friends here. So, what’s your name? My name’s Kasuga. Kasuga Ichiban. This is Zhao, Adachi, Nanba, Saeko, Joon-gi, and Eri.” He pointed at each of them in turn.

“My name is Royama.” She sighed. “Okay, so what’s really going on is gonna require a very, very long explanation. And we’re in a public spot right now. Where can we have a more private chat?”

“We have just the spot. C’mon, let’s go grab a taxi.”

* * *

Once they were back at Survive, everyone gathered around Royama so she could finally explain what the hell was going on. “Hey, could you like, fucking back off? It’s called personal space.” Royama groused.

With every crass remark aimed at them Joon-gi was liking this woman less and less, and she hadn’t made an endearing first impression in the first place. “You don’t have to be so rude.” Saeko snapped at her.

Royama waved a dismissive hand. "Let's just get started. So, what if I told you that monsters are real? And I don't mean metaphorical ones, I mean literal monsters. The things that go bump in the night. Not only that, but all sorts of other supernatural shit, like magic, other planes of existence, it's all real."

There was a pregnant moment of silence. Kah's words echoed in Joon-gi's mind: _Not a person. A monster._

"You don't believe me." Royama responded to the silence. Her fingers began tapping on the table, and with some observation Joon-gi realized that she was drumming a very specific rhythm. Tap tap tak. Pause. Tap tap tak. "But I know that there's been weird shit going on here in Yokohama. It all started when the Shinkai Clan moved in, right?"

"Wait, you know about the Shinkai?" Kasuga asked. "And yeah, you're right. We even ran into them once." 

"I've had a few run-ins with them myself. They're not just a yakuza clan, they're a cult. One that doesn't worship traditional gods."

Adachi's eyebrows shot up. "You're making a lot of wild claims without evidence."

"I'm still telling the truth." she said forcefully, slamming her fist onto the table. "They have magic at their disposal and they use it to do all sorts of bad shit, including all the usual yakuza stuff," she ranted.

Royama exhaled and rubbed her temples. "But as to how all this relates to the attacks, well, you're not dealing with a mere Copycat. You're dealing with the actual Kuchisake-onna."

"But why did the attacks start in the first place?" Joon-gi asked.

"Look, it's a whole lot of metaphysical bullshit that I don't fully understand, something like the local energies being disturbed and the strength of belief in the original legend that led to it manifesting." She shrugged. "But it's now attacking people to not just follow the legend, but to feed off the generated fear."

The seven friends exchanged glances with each other. Every word out of this woman's mouth was utterly ludicrous, yet she was saying it so sincerely she must believe everything she said.

Royama continued speaking. "The reason you've been having so much trouble tracking it down is of course because it's a supernatural being. It's not completely of this physical world, it can just materialize whenever, wherever it wants and vanish just as quickly.” _It’s there but not really there..._ Joon-gi’s throat felt dry. “But I can put a stop to it."

"How?" Everyone asked in unison.

"I'm gonna fucking kill it." She stated simply. "After all my research here, I've determined the proper binding ritual to forcefully drag it into our world. That way when it dies, it won't just come back in the future and wreak havoc again."

She finally stopped her tapping. "I'm not super familiar with the area, so tell me of a nice abandoned place and how I could get there. Then I'll get out of your hair and start preparing."

"Wait, you're just doing all this alone?" Kasuga asked incredulously. "That sounds dangerous!"

"And I've handled other cases like this on my own before. This is about as involved as you should get. I only told you what I know because you were about to go blundering into shit you didn't understand and I didn’t want you pointlessly dying."

"I'm not about to let someone go into danger all by themselves! If you really are going to get into a fight, wouldn't it be better if you had backup? And I already told you that we're tagging along, whether you like it or not."

"Ugh, fucking fine!" Royama threw her arms into the air. "But don't say I didn't warn you when shit inevitably goes south. Now I need to go grab my stuff from my car."

"I'll be coming along." Joon-gi suddenly said.

She stared. "Why." 

"Because I trust you about as much as you trust us."

She muttered something, no doubt venomous, and shook her head. She looked back at Kasuga. "You do have a location in mind, yeah? It needs to be somewhere that innocent bystanders can't get caught in the crossfire."

"Yeah, a warehouse by the docks. It uh, kinda got blown up because of me."

"That works." She nodded and got up from her seat. 

"Actually, I think it'll be better if me and Kasuga came along too." Adachi spoke up, shooting a meaningful look at the ex-yakuza. "Ijincho's filled with all sorts of thugs who'll attack you for any stupid reason. You'll be safer with more people around."

Royama looked very displeased at the idea of more people following her, but nodded. “Before we go though, this place have a bathroom? Gotta go relieve myself. Also, you hear anything weird, don’t worry about it.”

The bartender pointed it out, and Royama went in. After the door closed behind her, a primal scream of rage pierced the air, making everyone’s eyebrows shoot up. Not long after, Royama stepped out, completely nonchalant. “Alright, I’m good. Let’s get going.”

Joon-gi, Adachi, and Kasuga followed her out, not missing the worried looks shared between their other friends as they left.

* * *

Joon-gi kept a careful eye on Royama as they walked. He noticed that like Kasuga, she had a tendency to pick up random crap from the ground. She’d turn the objects over in her hands, sometimes knocking them together while muttering under her breath. Occasionally she’d even give the things she took a lick. Eventually everything would get shoved into her trench coat. Those weren’t the only weird quirks the madwoman had; occasionally she’d start scratching at her own arms and body. 

While she had walked ahead of the three men at first, it wasn’t long before she started lagging behind. It was easy to figure out why; she was deliberately hanging back so she could watch them herself. Of course Joon-gi changed pace to foil that, earning a dirty look from the newcomer. If this woman was going to be suspicious of them, then Joon-gi was going to return that suspicion. If only she had also told them her given name, because simply looking up ‘Royama’ was not going to produce immediately relevant results. Then again, that had probably been a deliberate move on her part. Hm, how could he get her full name? Perhaps pickpocketing her and getting her wallet so he could search for any identification. No, not possible at the moment, as she had her hands shoved deep in her pockets, and her eyes were flicking furtively at him (and everyone else) every other second. It wasn’t a wise move in general either, because while she did seem like she needed to be committed, she was also the only lead they had on the Kuchisake-onna, Copycat or otherwise. Driving her away would only set them back.

Suddenly, Royama’s head snapped up, an expression of pure terror distorting her face. Joon-gi followed her gaze to see what had scared her so much, and saw...nothing. Just empty sky. He looked back at Royama, who had definitely noticed him looking in the same direction as her just now. She glared daggers at him, and he glared right back.

Joon-gi walked closer to Adachi. “Adachi-san, what’s your take on her?” he whispered.

“She’s clearly paranoid. Either someone really is out to get her...or she’s nuttier than even Kasuga. Personally? I’m leaning on the latter.” The ex-detective whispered back.

Joon-gi nodded. “My sentiments exactly. If she does turn on us, I believe all seven of us would be able to take her down with ease at least.” 

Kasuga spotted a distinctive group of thugs in the distance, and started to steer the group in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, one of the thugs spotted them. “Hey, it’s those punks again! Let’s get ‘em!” he alerted his buddies, and everyone pulled out weapons. Joon-gi noticed Royama grimace and pull out a rather large steak knife from her coat, proving his earlier assumption correct. Now to observe her fight.

Joon-gi, fastest out of the group as always, immediately took one man out with a rapid combo of punches, sending teeth flying as the man fell to the ground with a cry of pain. Kasuga cracked another man’s ribs with his beloved Hero’s Bat, while Adachi knocked another down so he could grab him and throw him right at his gathered buddies. Royama then struck, an absolutely savage expression on her face. She stabbed a straggler straight in the gut, and that hadn’t been enough for her because she also kicked him right in the family jewels.

There was one thug left, evidently of limited intelligence as he hadn’t taken his chance to run. He charged at Royama, screaming with his own blade in hand. Royama only glowered at him, and did something that made Joon-gi’s eyes widen; she spoke some guttural words in a tongue that he’d never heard before, and the thug suddenly fell to his knees, clutching his head and screaming in pain. Blood dribbled from her nose as she finished the fight with another gut stab.

“Uh…” Kasuga blinked rapidly. “What did you just do?”

“Magic.” Royama said matter-of-factly as she wiped her nose with her sleeve. “I told you it was real, didn’t I? Come on, my car’s not much further from here.” She turned on her heel and resumed walking.

Magic. Joon-gi hated the mere thought of it. Something actually unknown to him, that by definition defied rational explanation. And if Royama could do more than just give people splitting headaches...suddenly the outcome of a possible fight seemed less certain.

The four finally reached Royama’s car, a rather beat-up thing that spoke of many accidents. She opened the front door first, unleashing a musty smell and letting a few snack wrappers and empty bottles fall out, making Joon-gi’s nose wrinkle with distaste. Evidently she didn’t clean the interior much. Royama swept out more wrappers while replacing the bottles on the seats. She then popped open the glove compartment and grabbed some things, exactly what though was obscured by the angle. After locking everything back up, she went to the trunk and opened it, revealing boxes filled with papers, first-aid kits, containers with chemical labels on them, and an assortment of other things. Joon-gi could make out the word ‘acid’ on the containers.

“Where did you get those from?” he had to ask.

“Here’s my answer to that question: none of your fucking business.” she snapped.

Joon-gi scowled and fought down his growing urge to hit her. Just tolerate her for a little longer so that the goal could be achieved. Adachi patted his shoulder sympathetically.

“Uh, just what do you need acid for?” Kasuga asked concernedly.

“It’s useful in general, especially against the monsters. I always make sure I'm stocked up." She pulled out some empty bottles from her seemingly endless pockets and filled them up. "Okay, I'm ready. Now we just have to wait for nightfall to do the ritual. Do whatever you need to to prepare, because I can guarantee you, shit’s gonna get ugly."

“We will,” Kasuga nodded. “Though things are pretty ugly already…”

* * *

During the party’s preparations for whatever was supposed to go down that night, Joon-gi called Seong-hui to give her an update on the situation. He made his concern about Royama especially clear, and she promised him that she’d have someone try to find out more about her. He in turn promised to call her again once the ‘ritual’ was over. He honestly didn’t know what to expect from it. One part of him wanted to dismiss it all as mad ramblings from a disturbed woman...but he also had to face the reality of the strange things that had happened recently. Of vanishing buildings, of mysterious attackers that foiled all technology, of people causing others physical pain without even making contact...If he accepted her words as true, then things would start making terrible sense. Normally he wanted to gather all he could know about a situation so that it could be dealt with as efficiently as possible, but now...now he wasn’t sure he did. He would never admit it, but he was honestly afraid. The Omi Alliance and so many other enemies had been mere obstacles to take down. Royama brought with her many terrible implications that made him fear for himself and his friends.

One uncomfortable train ride later and the eight of them were inside the former Yokohama Trading Company Warehouse. The only light in the dark interior came from their phones and a flashlight shining from Royama’s front pocket. Royama took out a leather-bound journal from her coat, consulted a few pages, nodded, and put it away. She then kneeled on the floor and drew an intricate magic circle in chalk on it with a deft and practiced hand. Once done, she placed a candle with an odd symbol carved into the wax in the center.

Royama took out a lighter and held it over the wick. She looked up at Kasuga, a grave look on her face. “Last chance for you and your friends to bail. Once this starts, you can’t ever turn back.” 

Kasuga looked between the rest of them, and they gave him a collective nod. “We’re ready to see this through to the end.”

Royama sighed, and flicked the lighter on, the flame catching on the wick. She put the lighter away and performed a series of claps and bows, murmuring indecipherably as she did. When she finished, she stood and pulled out a sawn-off shotgun from her coat, which Joon-gi had to raise an eyebrow at. “Get ready. It’ll be here soon.”

Everyone else got out their weapons. Seconds passed. A minute. The wick burned down to the wax.

_BANG._

Everyone’s heads snapped towards the door, which was shrouded in darkness. _BANG._ _BANG BANG BANG._ “Here it comes.” Royama said softly.

The door swung open, but they did not see the night outside, only a black void. A figure, fuzzy at the edges, slowly melted out of the darkness and walked towards them. Saeko aimed her phone’s light at the figure, and everyone started screaming and cursing once they saw what it was, save for Royama, who only grimaced and held up her shotgun.

Joon-gi had been expecting a mere woman with the signature injury, something like the pictures he’d seen online. This was decidedly not that. The Kuchisake-onna was inhumanly tall, its body vaguely feminine, the limbs twisted and overlong. It was wearing a bloodstained windbreaker and wielding a giant pair of bloody scissors in its bony, spider-like hand. But the monster’s most striking feature was its head; covered with long, scraggly black hair, it was twisted at a ninety-degree angle, so its face lay vertically as it gazed balefully at them. Or rather, _faces;_ it was as if three identical faces had been folded together and stacked on top of each other, with two sets of dead black eyes on them, the middle face sharing its eyes with the other two. Bone-white skin was marred by prominent pustules. And of course, a gaping slice ran through all 3 of its smiling mouths.

The twitching horror raised its scissors and laughed, a bloodcurdling noise that echoed hollowly in the empty warehouse. In the same voice(s) that Joon-gi had heard on the laptop, it asked, _“aM I bEaUtIfUl?”_

Adachi was the first to unfreeze, interposing himself between the monster and his friends. “Oi! You want to get at us, you’ll have to go through me!” He shouted, his bravado an obvious cover for how scared he was.

Adachi charged and struck first, striking the Kuchisake-onna's body with his baton. The creature didn’t seem to be fazed one bit. The scissors, glinting in the low light, swung down, stabbing the ex-detective in the gut. “Gah!” Adachi cried out and stumbled back. Nanba, managing to keep his head in a crisis, pulled him away further so he could tend to his wound.

“Adachi-san!” Zhao moved next, slashing at the creature with his sabre. Black ichor sprayed out of its wounds, splattering his clothes. “Oh, ew! These just came out of the wash!”

The Kuchisake-onna abruptly swiped at Zhao, knocking him to the floor. He yelped as he rolled away, barely dodging another stab that sank deep into the concrete. Joon-gi finally snapped out of his daze; this thing was hurting his friends, and like hell was he going to let it keep on doing so. He drew his handguns, his mind focusing to a pinpoint on the goal; to slay this monster and finally end its reign of terror.

The cuts Zhao had inflicted were already healing, albeit slowly. “Everyone! We just need to overwhelm it with sheer damage!” Kasuga shouted, and he charged forth, brandishing his bat. Royama got right into the danger with him, aiming her weapon at the scissor woman’s body and blasting away, filling it with oozing holes. The report echoed in the empty interior, and if Joon-gi didn’t wear ear protection his ears would be ringing. "Hey bitch, you’re not even remotely close to being in the ballpark of the worst shit I've ever faced." She spat and pumped her shotgun.

Royama began chanting in the same guttural language as earlier, but before she could finish whatever she was doing the horror retaliated. It drove its scissors deep into her, right below her collarbone. A pained cry interrupted her spell, and her grip on her weapon loosened, though she didn’t drop it. The Kuchisake-onna pulled out the scissors and held her down, and it was very obvious what it was planning to do next when it opened the blades, a malicious grin stretching across its mouths.

Before it could however, Kasuga swung his bat into its arm, and with a resounding _CRACK_ it let go of Royama. Royama staggered back, gritting her teeth, and readjusted her grip on the shotgun. “Come on everyone! We’ve beaten so many other enemies before, we can beat this thing! Don’t lose hope!” Kasuga shouted.

His fervor reinvigorated them, and they all laid into the Kuchisake-onna, doing their best to dodge its wild slashes and stabs. Eri threw various sharp implements at it, opening up more cuts on it. Kasuga, Nanba, and Adachi battered it with their weapons. Saeko and Zhao punched and kicked at it, Zhao in particular practically dancing around it. Royama took potshots whenever she was certain that she wouldn’t hit the others. And Joon-gi was keeping his distance, popping shots into it and tearing open more holes in it. “Just how much more punishment can this thing take?!” Saeko shouted.

“It’s had a lot of fear to feed on! No shit it’s not going down easy!” Royama shouted back.

Suddenly the multitude of eyes fixated on Joon-gi. In between muzzle flashes from his handguns, the Kuchisake-onna vanished from where it was, and in the next second it was suddenly towering over him, without even crossing the space that had been between them. Before Joon-gi could run away, the horror grabbed and lifted him into the air. 

The faces seemed to melt together, their eyes grotesquely wide and crazed. The mouths all cackled madly, three pallid, worm-like tongues lolling out as they did, the voices resonating and reverberating with each other. All capacity for rational thought left Joon-gi, leaving only primal _fear,_ and he began _screaming._

He was still screaming as those scissors were shoved into his mouth, ice-cold metal slipping past his tongue. There was a brief, terrible pressure on his cheek as the blades closed-

* * *

_“_ HAN JOON-GI!!!!” Ichiban bellowed as the other let out a scream of pure _agony,_ and he willed his legs to run faster, to make it in time as the Kuchisake-onna opened its scissors again to cut the other side-

Something sailed through the air, and it hit the scissor woman square in the face with a shattering of glass. The monster shrieked with pain and dropped Joon-gi as its flesh began to smoke violently and melt away into black, jellylike masses. Ichiban looked over to see Royama getting more bottles out of her coat, her expression that of cold determination. The smell of burning plastic hit his nose as he hastily dragged a weakly moaning Joon-gi away.

Nanba was suddenly by his side and Ichiban let him take Joon-gi away, out of harm’s way while the others finished the fight. Royama lobbed more bottles of acid at the scissor woman, hitting various spots on its body. Its windbreaker also burned as though it were flesh, and it screeched and writhed as more black chunks sloughed off it.

Royama took a deep breath and once more, spoke in that harsh, rasping tongue. Blood gushed out of her nose and mouth, but she paid no mind. Suddenly the Kuchisake-onna just...stopped. It was completely frozen, as though someone had hit the pause button on it. 

“End this! _Now!_ ” Royama shouted at him, spitting blood.

Ichiban tightened his grip on his bat, and he began to just beat the abomination in. He didn’t stop swinging, he just slammed his bat into it again, and again, and again. The cracking of his bat against it gradually gave way to pulpy, sticky thuds. If he’d been attacking a regular human they would’ve been reduced to little more than a bloody mess on the floor a long time ago. Someone was screaming, and distantly Ichiban realized that it was himself.

He only stopped when he finally couldn’t swing anymore, and Ichiban let his tired arms drop to his sides, panting heavily. The horror lay dead on the floor, and before his eyes the thing slowly dissolved, leaving nothing behind. He slowly stumbled back to the others.

“Ichiban…” Nanba looked completely drained. “I’ve done all I can, but Joon-gi needs to get to the hospital, fast.” His hands and sleeves were covered in blood.

Adachi was carrying the unconscious hitman, and Ichiban couldn’t bring himself to look directly at the horrible gash that had been cut through his right cheek. There was just so much blood everywhere, it had dripped down to his raincoat, even staining his silver hair. Saeko looked like she was about to throw up, while Eri was shaking, covering her mouth, tears streaming from her eyes. Ichiban caught sight of his hands, and when he held them up in the light he realized that blood had soaked onto them as well. _Joon-gi’s blood._ Suddenly Ichiban felt lightheaded, the whole room was spinning-

And Zhao was there, a steadying hand on his shoulder. Without thinking Ichiban pulled his lover into a tight hug and sobbed. Zhao rubbed his back soothingly and gently shushed him. “You heard the nurse, we all need a trip to the hospital after...that shit.” Zhao looked back at the chalk circle. By this point the candle had mostly melted away, only a stub of wax left.

Royama had already put her things away and was halfway to the door. “I fucking warned you. I gave you every chance. You were still stupid enough to follow me.”

Saeko’s eyes blazed with fury. “Listen here, you complete and utter _bitch-”_

“Sa-chan! Now’s not the time.” Adachi gave her a pointed look. “Let’s just get out of here, I’m losing blood too.”

They followed Royama outside. Ichiban, in spite of their victory, only felt hollow inside. And he knew that his friends felt similarly dispirited. 

Ichiban got out his phone and called for an ambulance for victims of the Kuchisake-onna, for what was hopefully the last time. He made sure to mention that more than one person had been injured so that multiple vehicles would be sent.

It was a nerve-wracking wait for emergency services, but they eventually arrived. Paramedics immediately loaded the injured into the ambulances, and cleaned up the light cuts everyone else had sustained. Ichiban felt a pit in his stomach as he watched Joon-gi get loaded up in a stretcher.

The rest of them made their way to a public road so Ichiban could call for a taxi. Once they were piled inside one, he made another call, the one he’d been dreading the most since the end. Zhao gave his hand a light squeeze, and Ichiban squeezed back. “Seong-hui, we actually dealt with the Kuchisake-onna, I think the attacks are over. But there’s bad news too, we’re all headed to the hospital…”

* * *

Seong-hui stormed through the hospital doors, and everyone in her way immediately gave her and her rage a wide berth. She strode right up to where Ichiban was sitting, and without warning, slapped him hard. Ichiban made no move to resist, because he fucking deserved it. A friend had been horribly injured under his watch.

“Of all things.” Seong-hui said in a low voice, a threatening rumble in it. “You go up against the Omi Alliance. You survive fighting Tojo legends. Even win a fight against an assassin from one of the deadliest clans in the world. But it’s a crazy lady with scissors that puts Joon-gi in the fucking hospital!!!” She screamed right into his face. 

“It wasn’t ‘just’ a lady with scissors…” Ichiban defended himself weakly. Seong-hui crossed her arms, eyes still blazing.

“Look, I know what I’m about to say sounds completely nuts, but we just fought an actual monster. Like, something out of a horror movie! And I swear to you we didn’t just have a collective hallucination.” He sighed. “I know you want proof, but she’s getting patched up here too…”

A nurse approached their group and Seong-hui shifted her attention to him. “Well? How is Han Joon-gi doing?” she demanded. “I’m a close friend of his.”

The nurse held up his hands placatingly. “Han Joon-gi is currently in surgery. It’ll be hours before it’s done. Afterwards, well, he’ll probably be in recovery for around a month. Faces have a lot of delicate musculature, and it’ll take a lot longer to heal than most other lacerations.”

“What about the others?” Ichiban stood and spoke up. “How are they doing?”

“Their injuries are being tended to. They’ll be staying here for at least a week.”

Ichiban thanked him and the nurse left. Seong-hui put her palm on her forehead. “Fuck. I need to head back to HQ, I’ve already spent enough time out here.” She jabbed a finger into Ichiban’s chest. “We’re going to have a long talk about this later.”

Ichiban nodded. “Yeah. Goodbye Seong-hui. I’m so sorry I let this happen.”

“I’m sure that’s a big comfort to Joon-gi.” she snapped, and the guilt inside Ichiban only grew. Seong-hui shoved him away and left the hospital.

Ichiban checked up on his other friends. Nanba was hunched over, his face buried in his hands, while Zhao rubbed his back. “Come on Nanba, we know that Joon-gi’s gonna pull through. He’s a stubborn little bastard.”

Nanba sucked in a breath. “I saw it grab him and was just frozen...Fuck!” he slammed his fists into his legs. “I’ve never been more scared in my life…”

“We couldn’t do anything, it just happened too fast…”

Saeko was comforting a sobbing Eri, holding her gently. “Poor, poor, Joon-gi. What happened tonight was just h-horrible...” Eri sniffled.

“At least it’s over now. That thing is gone, hopefully forever…” Saeko said softly.

“Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s over.” Ichiban said grimly, thinking of the Shinkai Clan. “Not by a long shot…”

* * *

_One month later…_

Joon-gi grimaced as he traced the nasty scar on his right cheek in his reflection. It’d take a lot of makeup to cover it up, or he’d have to start wearing his privacy mask a lot more often. He didn’t like the latter option much, he’d rather not have any reminders in any shape or form of the thing that had inflicted this on him in the first place.

He hated this. He had hated it whenever his friends had visited him while he was recovering, because inevitably their eyes would drift over his face, even as they tried to hide it. Even now he’d catch them staring, sympathy in their eyes. Because he was forever marked.

It was shameful. His and his brother’s legacies forever marred by his own weakness. At least Joon-gi could make sure that his successor didn’t have this scar. They didn’t deserve this defacement.

He took his hand away and shook the thought from his mind. He needed to get through the rest of his morning routine. He was about to grab the toothpaste when he noticed how flat the tube was. He tossed it into the wastebasket and opened the drawer to grab a new one...and stopped.

Inside the drawer was also a pair of scissors. With a trembling hand he reached in and slipped his fingers through the grips. His breathing quickening, he held them up and opened them. Closed them. Open. Close. Open. Close…

Unbidden, the corners of his lips curled up into a smile...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Royama was a character who went through many forms before settling on her final concept here. I knew I wanted a character with mythos experience to properly introduce the gang to all the supernatural goings-on. Originally Royama was a male private detective who took a lot from Seth Skorkowsky's Jack the NPC, a smooth-talking, sardonic guy with an eye for the ladies. Then I realized 'oh, that's a role Adachi already fills.' So afterwards Royama was written as what a late-campaign Call of Cthulhu investigator would look like: a person with dwindling sanity and no more shits to give. And made a woman because hey why not have more girls around in the cast. Here's a [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojKu64NP4fM&ab_channel=RangeWright) of what I think her Japanese voice is. Also, here's [art](https://imgur.com/kW1MutF) of her! This lovely piece was a commission done by my friend, [celebbun](https://celebbun.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Next chapter will be going a bit more into what happened during the month Joon-gi was out of commission. Ichiban will learn a bit more about Royama. 
> 
> Also, here's a quote I found from Hifumi Kono, director of the Clock Tower game. I found it really interesting: "In the original Clock Tower series, the scissors have a strong impact on the player. I wanted to create a sense of dread, of slow pain. The pain you feel with a knife or a gun is instantaneous, but with scissors, you feel the blades closing in, coming against your flesh, taking their sweet time to finish the act. What I really wanted to express was the duration of pain."
> 
> The screenshots used here were taken from the World Of Horror game.

**Author's Note:**

> All images used in this fic belong to their respective owners.


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